When Jamestown was settled in 1607, it became the first successful British settlement in the Americas. However, it was anything but successful at first, as the settlers suffered with disease and starvation. This image depicts the settlement as it appeared from 1607 to 1611, when it was largely on the brink of extinction.
Disease and starvation were certainly two problems for the Jamestown settlers. Another huge problem was the pesky Powhatan Indians, who were keen to see the British numbers dwindle. Though all-out warfare didn't break out until much later, the Indians pursued many smaller attacks on Jamestown that nearly destroyed the settlement in its early years.
To the Powhatan Indians, the Jamestown settlers were truly remarkable sights. With their odd clothing, powerful weapons, and exotic animals, it is understandable that the Indians would look on the settlers with awe. However, it wasn't long until the Indians began to look on the British with hate, as Jamestown expanded to take tons of Powhatan land as well as taking the lives of many Powhatan people.
The British settlers and Indians got off to a much more amiable start than their counterparts in Jamestown. The Wampanoag tribe, led by Massasoit, was particularly helpful to the settlers at first. Though relations would break down in latter years, here the settlers and Indians are seen celebrating Thanksgiving.
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an intensely religious place. Though it's settlers weren't quite as extreme as the Plymouth colony separatists, they still were fairly rigorous in their worship. Thus, it should come as no surprise that people who weren't Puritans were often expelled from the colony, which actually helped the growth of New England in the long run.
The settlers and Indians around the Mass Bay Colony were on good terms for a decent amount of time after colonization started, but eventually, as was the case in nearly all colonies, relations eventually began breaking down. Pictured above is a British settler holding a bible out to the Indians; much of the "breaking down" that happened between Indians and settlers had to do with the British desire to convert Indians. Indians who were willing to convert were shunned by their former people and those who didn't convert would soon face the wrath of the British.
When plantation owners looked at African slaves, they saw one thing: profits. African slaves were much stronger than their Indian counterparts and could be bought in larger bulk than white indentured servants. Here, slaves are depicted performing many tasks, but the most important work that slaves were tasked with in colonial America was the harvesting of tobacco. Image via http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/1670_virginia_tobacco_slaves.jpg
African slaves endured much harsher conditions than the indentured slaves before them had endured. During the "middle passage," a journey from the west coast of Africa to the American east coast, Africans would be packed into ships in remarkable numbers. It is estimated that around 10 to 15 percent of slaves died on this difficult journey before even reaching America. Image via http://hilobrow.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/middle_passage.jpg
Depicted here is the aftermath of the Battle of Quebec during the French and Indian War. The battle was a real turning point in the war, as the British, led by James Wolfe, flanked the French during the night and crushed them when day came. Quebec was the largest French city in the new world, so this was a massive victory for the British. Image via http://cdn-1.britishbattles.com/images/quebec/landing-l.jpg
One man who found his start in the French and Indian War was George Washington. Washington accidentally started the war with his inability to read and translate French writing. Here, he is seen fighting for the British. Ironically, in just a a few years, Washington would be fighting against the British in the Revolutionary War. Image via http://www.nebraskastudies.org/0300/media/0301_011601.jpg
The French and Indian War started because the French wanted to connect their land in Canada with their newly acquired land on the Mississippi River by way of the Ohio River. Explorers like Antoine Cadillac, Jacques Marquette, and La Salle were the main leaders in this expansion movement. Image via http://media.web.britannica.com/eb-media/89/109389-004-E4ABBCA2.jpg
In one of the largest French victories in the French and Indian War, the French, aided by several Indian tribes, clobbered the British in the battle commonly referred to as "Braddock's Defeat." Edward Braddock, a British war leader, famously led his troops into a horrible battle where he was killed and the French walked away with a huge victory. Image via http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/89/65589-004-00F62CCA.jpg